"Perfect Chemistry" by Simone Elkeles Is Great!

What a fun read “Perfect Chemistry” by Simone Elkeles is!  I enjoyed reading Perfect Chemistry very much because it was such a cute high school romance story about the “perfect” pom-pom girl, Brittany Ellis, and the Latino Blood gang member, Alex, who had the reputation for being the most dangerous guy in school.  The Fairfield high school is cross cultural with the uppity rich kids from the North and the poor drug-dealing gang members from the south.  The Chemistry teacher and principal are determined to get the kids to learn from each other.   

When Brittany and Alex are paired together as partners in Chemistry it takes them awhile before they feel comfortable with each other to actually work together.  Although the plot is simplistic and predictable, it’s a fun read because of the characters, the humor and a great ending.  I liked Alex better than Brittany because he seemed to have more love and respect for his family than Brittany had for her parents.

Alex also struggled with deeper decisions whereas Brittany’s biggest decision was which guy she should go with—the jock that everyone expected her to like or Alex who she was attracted to and really liked.  I think the author did a good job at presenting both sides of Brittany and Alex—their caring and loving natures as well as the superficial ones they presented to the world.

I really liked this book because I like stories about teens, school and interesting characters.  Brittany and Alex discovered that stereotypes are not always right and were surprised to discover that they had more in common than they would have ever imagined as they got to know each other better and actually became friends and lovers.  This book addresses the issues of image, popularity, premarital sex, family, dealing with cerebral palsy, judging by appearances, teaching and gangs.  I didn’t care for the foul language interspersed throughout the book or the fact that premarital sex was taken so lightly, but it reflected the general attitude of most high schoolers.  I am so glad I read Perfect Chemistry and highly recommend it to anyone who likes YA fiction/romance.     
(Karen's review)


I discovered this one at Miss Page-Turner's city of Books
Have you read this one? What did you think of it?

Tuesday Teasers: "Perfect Chemistry" and "The Lock Artist"

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should  Be Reading. Anyone can play along, so I thought  I  would play for fun! Just do the following:          

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on  that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away!   You don’t  want  to  ruin the  book for others!)
• Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can  add the book to their TBR  Lists  if they  like your teaser. 

Karen's:

It'd be cool if God gave everyone a DoOver Day and you cuold yell "Do Over!" and the day would start new.  This would definitely qualify for a DOD.

Does Mrs. Peterson actually think it's reasonable to pair the captain of the pom-pom squad with the most dangerous guy in school?  The woman is delusional.

From p. 25 of "Perfect Chemistry" by Simone Elkeles.  (review coming tomorrow)

Gerard's:

My head was pounding.  I couldn't breathe.

For the first time, I had tried to open a lock, and I had failed.

From p. 130 of The Lock Artist by Steve Hamilton

Meet Us On Monday

Here's the questions from last week's meme hosted by Never Growing Old to help our readers get to know us better so sometimes we'll post it on this blog, and sometimes on our Right Where We Belong personal blog.


1.  Have you (only you..not a group) ever won first place in anything?
2.  Are your toes always painted (sorry guys...this question for girls only)?
3.  What color eyes do you have?
4.  Look to your left....what do you see?
5.  Soft cookies or crunchy cookies?

1.  Karen won first place for her green peppers she grew in her garden at her elementary school.  Gerard never won first place in anything as an individual but we did as a team both in bowling and volleyball.

2.  Never paint my toenails because I always wear socks and shoes.

3.  We both have big brown eyes.

4.  To the left is our cat, Manny, right is our cat Spunky Doodle.  They always come when I'm on the computer.

Manny on my Left

Spunky Doodle on my Right

5.  Karen prefers the soft, Gerard prefers the crunchy.  Speaking of cookies, I ordered four boxes of Girl Scout cookies.  Have you ordered yours yet?

"Sabrina" by Lori Wick

Prostitute to Preacher's Wife, a story of Deliverance and Transformation

Sabrina by Lori Wick is a Christian historical romance book that is fairly predictable and contains a lot of scripture, including the plan of salvation. Sabrina, the main character, was a prostitute who is befriended by the sheriff and his wife who share God's plan of salvation with her and help her get out of prostitution. She leaves town and starts a new life, supporting herself by being a seamstress and working in a mercantile. She tries to help other prostitutes and finds love in her new town.

Sabrina promotes compassion and forgiveness, but pretty predictable although it leaves some loose ends. The author did not go into a lot of detail when handling the prostitution aspect of this story. I enjoyed reading it.
(Karen's review 4/7/09)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it?

"No Daddy, Don't" by Irene Pence

No Daddy Don’t by Irene Pence is a shocking non-fiction story about how John Battaglia killed two of his children and the trial afterward.  It gives all the background that led up to the day he did it.  It’s a good read!  I especially enjoyed the trial part of the book!
(Gerard's Review)

We discovered this book over at Reading, Reading & LIfe.  Check out that review too!

Have you read this one? What did you think of it?